Holo Audio May KTE Dac

[audioarcher]

For anyone who has a KTE May DAC:

What streamer are you using with it?

How does it perform sonically when converting Qobuz to analog?

Hi Ron,

Recently got a new streamer. A Rockna Wavedream Net. I'm feeding the May I2S from the Rockna. Qobuz sounds excellent through the Rockna. Not sure I can even tell a difference between local files and Qobuz.

Still using the SonicTransporter I9 as a Roon core. Using the Rockna as an endpoint.

I was using usb from the I9, but going I2S from Rockna now. Originally got an Audioquest Carbon 48 to try I2S. It sounded decent and close to the performance of usb through the I9. Then I decided to pick up an Audioquest Firebird 48 I2S cable. After a couple of weeks of break in it is sounding fantastic!

The May I2S input does sound great as long as the source of I2S is up to snuff. I would not bother with a usb to i2s converter. At least the Singxer I tried in the past was not better than straight usb.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hi Ron,

Recently got a new streamer. A Rockna Wavedream Net. I'm feeding the May I2S from the Rockna. Qobuz sounds excellent through the Rockna. Not sure I can even tell a difference between local files and Qobuz.

Still using the SonicTransporter I9 as a Roon core. Using the Rockna as an endpoint.

I was using usb from the I9, but going I2S from Rockna now. Originally got an Audioquest Carbon 48 to try I2S. It sounded decent and close to the performance of usb through the I9. Then I decided to pick up an Audioquest Firebird 48 I2S cable. After a couple of weeks of break in it is sounding fantastic!

The May I2S input does sound great as long as the source of I2S is up to snuff. I would not bother with a usb to i2s converter. At least the Singxer I tried in the past was not better than straight usb.

Thank you for this report!

 

[audioarcher]

Wow wh01sjongalt, thanks for the affirmation. I love your enthusiasm !

I must admit I was starting to despair that digital was never going to live up to the promise of many years ago but now I also have a new enthusiasm.

May I ask what sort of digital files you are using ? CD's ? Hi Rez ? Streaming ? I am intrigued because predominantly I play various Hi res files that I purchased through HD Tracks, a lot of reviewers are suggesting you need nothing more than CD quality when you use the Holo May because it is that good.

It has certainly lifted my Spotify to another level but it is anything but Hi Res but still sounds incredibly good through the Holo albeit lacking a bit of air so it does make me wonder whether a Tidal or Qubuz subscription may well be worth it now ? Your thoughts ?

Thanks
BTW I live in Australia

Have not tried Spotify. Is it CD quality? Qobuz is at least CD quality and sounds great on my rig. 44.1 khz files sound awesome on the May in NOS mode.

 

[U_J]

For anyone who has a KTE May DAC:

What streamer are you using with it?

How does it perform sonically when converting Qobuz to analog?

I am using a Melco N1, which is a streamer and digital library ( hard drives built in ), the Melco only provides a USB out so I cannot compare other inputs to the Holo May but the USB seems to work mighty fine and I have no troubles playing any of the Sound Liaison 352Khz One mic recordings ( which sound incredible by the way ). The Melco App is OK and supports Qobuz and Tidal but not Spotify and has no Roon core.
At the moment we are waiting for Qobuz to be officially released into Australia , when it is available I will take up a trial subscription to see what it sounds like but I cannot see any good reason why it would not be every bit as good as any 44Khz file played on the Holo, which it does do very well.

 

[Tinear1]

I use a Innuos Zen-Mini-MkIII w/LPS with my May KTE and absolutely love the combination.

 

[U_J]

Having lived with the Holo May for a month or so ( and a very enjoyable month it has been ! ), I have an observation which other owners of the May may not agree with. In an earlier post I mentioned that running the May in my system made it sound like I had all new bigger beefier amplifiers which have given the bass an unbelievable amount of punch which puzzled me a little since this is not an expected trait from an R2R DAC.
It has slowly dawned on me that the incredible open airy and "just there" sound may have more to do with the output stage of the DAC rather than the DAC stage itself. Yes the May measures quite well but there are endless DACs that out measure the May but do not garner any praise for their sound, I mentioned that my old SMSL400 DAC absolutely creams it for specification and measurement yet the SMSL sounds congested and dull in comparison to the May. There is speculation that R2R DACs get the phase and timing right compared to chip based DACs which contribute to the 3D sound they produce and this is probably true but this is not an explanation of the hugely improved bass and punch , I think this can only be coming from the overkill Class A discreet component output stage used in the May, but is it also the output stage that is contributing significantly to the open and airy sound ? For me this provides an explanation in my own mind of the improvement in sound.
Now I am wondering if there are better DAC's on the market that are let down by their output stage ?

What do you think ?

 

[b345t]

Having lived with the Holo May for a month or so ( and a very enjoyable month it has been ! ), I have an observation which other owners of the May may not agree with. In an earlier post I mentioned that running the May in my system made it sound like I had all new bigger beefier amplifiers which have given the bass an unbelievable amount of punch which puzzled me a little since this is not an expected trait from an R2R DAC.
It has slowly dawned on me that the incredible open airy and "just there" sound may have more to do with the output stage of the DAC rather than the DAC stage itself. Yes the May measures quite well but there are endless DACs that out measure the May but do not garner any praise for their sound, I mentioned that my old SMSL400 DAC absolutely creams it for specification and measurement yet the SMSL sounds congested and dull in comparison to the May. There is speculation that R2R DACs get the phase and timing right compared to chip based DACs which contribute to the 3D sound they produce and this is probably true but this is not an explanation of the hugely improved bass and punch , I think this can only be coming from the overkill Class A discreet component output stage used in the May, but is it also the output stage that is contributing significantly to the open and airy sound ? For me this provides an explanation in my own mind of the improvement in sound.
Now I am wondering if there are better DAC's on the market that are let down by their output stage ?

What do you think ?

It may be the output stage like you mention; it may also be from a variety of other things working together. Maybe the May has better synergy with your components. It could also be that the increase in the quality of analog conversion and resolution lets you hear your components better, including your cables, your power source, grounding etc. I am able to hear much bigger differences in my system compared to the same changes I made with my previous dac (chord tt2) with a variety of a/b tests such as differences between loudspeaker cables, adding/removing footers, some furutech ncf boosters that I use. I can't pinpoint exactly why the changes are more pronounced and obvious with the May, but I believe it is not just one thing that is responsible for this.

 

[audioarcher]

Having lived with the Holo May for a month or so ( and a very enjoyable month it has been ! ), I have an observation which other owners of the May may not agree with. In an earlier post I mentioned that running the May in my system made it sound like I had all new bigger beefier amplifiers which have given the bass an unbelievable amount of punch which puzzled me a little since this is not an expected trait from an R2R DAC.
It has slowly dawned on me that the incredible open airy and "just there" sound may have more to do with the output stage of the DAC rather than the DAC stage itself. Yes the May measures quite well but there are endless DACs that out measure the May but do not garner any praise for their sound, I mentioned that my old SMSL400 DAC absolutely creams it for specification and measurement yet the SMSL sounds congested and dull in comparison to the May. There is speculation that R2R DACs get the phase and timing right compared to chip based DACs which contribute to the 3D sound they produce and this is probably true but this is not an explanation of the hugely improved bass and punch , I think this can only be coming from the overkill Class A discreet component output stage used in the May, but is it also the output stage that is contributing significantly to the open and airy sound ? For me this provides an explanation in my own mind of the improvement in sound.
Now I am wondering if there are better DAC's on the market that are let down by their output stage ?

What do you think ?

I believe it is not only the output stage, but also the power supply that separates the best from the rest. Most of the cheap well measuring DAC's out there are lacking in both departments. Both discrete output stages, and beefy well designed power supplies are more expensive to make. Not to mention that someone has to design and carefully listen to the results to achieve success.

The measurement guys want you to believe that what they are measuring is the only important thing. They are mostly just measuring for noise and distortion. Yes those are important things, but not the whole picture.

 

[U_J]

I believe it is not only the output stage, but also the power supply that separates the best from the rest. Most of the cheap well measuring DAC's out there are lacking in both departments. Both discrete output stages, and beefy well designed power supplies are more expensive to make. Not to mention that someone has to design and carefully listen to the results to achieve success.

The measurement guys want you to believe that what they are measuring is the only important thing. They are mostly just measuring for noise and distortion. Yes those are important things, but not the whole picture.

Yes I agree, I guess my point was that I think most of the improvement is coming from the output stage and power supply, it just makes me wonder could you achieve similar results with a cheap chip DAC by just using a decent output stage and supply ?
I guess Denafrips proves the point , as you go up the chain from the cheap Ares to each successive model to the Terminator(s) the most obvious changes are the power supplies and output stages and they obviously are providing hearable improvements if you trust all the reviews.
Speaking of which has anyone had the chance to compare the Holo May to the Terminator or Terminator plus ? They do seem to be very similar beasts.

 

[toddrhodes]

I will hopefully be getting my May KTE in another few weeks. Will be comparing to my current DAC, a Denafrips Venus II, fed from an iFi Zen Stream via USB. And I use HQ Player to upsample/convert to DSD256 with ASDM7EC, gauss-long filter, and even without the May in this system, I'm hearing at least some of what you all are conferring about the May, so if there is a chance any of these elements (dark background, speakers disappearing, detail and reverb retrieval, etc...) can improve? I can say this will be a very interesting comparison, indeed!

I'm using a Freya+ in passive mode for preamp duties, along with an SMC Audio-modified DNA-125 amplifier, running out to a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C2 Platinums which, frankly, have transformed what I thought music could look and sound like in my room.

Giddy with optimism and anticipation, is probably the best way to describe my current mood.

And I have to plug the Zen Stream here - I bought it due to GoldenSound's really impressive low noise and low jitter recommendations, and it has NOT disappointed. To me, it is better than a Pi-based streamer + DDC (DF or a custom one I built). And not just a little better. Since I use a PC feeding HQ Player to an NAA, my system won't benefit much from something like a high end streamer. But I'm over the moon with how this little Zen Stream NAA has transformed my experience.

 

[U_J]

I will hopefully be getting my May KTE in another few weeks. Will be comparing to my current DAC, a Denafrips Venus II, fed from an iFi Zen Stream via USB. And I use HQ Player to upsample/convert to DSD256 with ASDM7EC, gauss-long filter, and even without the May in this system, I'm hearing at least some of what you all are conferring about the May, so if there is a chance any of these elements (dark background, speakers disappearing, detail and reverb retrieval, etc...) can improve? I can say this will be a very interesting comparison, indeed!

I'm using a Freya+ in passive mode for preamp duties, along with an SMC Audio-modified DNA-125 amplifier, running out to a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C2 Platinums which, frankly, have transformed what I thought music could look and sound like in my room.

Giddy with optimism and anticipation, is probably the best way to describe my current mood.

And I have to plug the Zen Stream here - I bought it due to GoldenSound's really impressive low noise and low jitter recommendations, and it has NOT disappointed. To me, it is better than a Pi-based streamer + DDC (DF or a custom one I built). And not just a little better. Since I use a PC feeding HQ Player to an NAA, my system won't benefit much from something like a high end streamer. But I'm over the moon with how this little Zen Stream NAA has transformed my experience.

Hi Todd

I look forward to hearing your experience with the May particularly since you can do a direct comparison to the Venus, I know it has been mentioned multiple times but please give the May ample run in time before passing judgement , I was personally sceptical about the run in times being reported but they are absolutely true.

I am jealous that you have a Freya+ I ordered one in November of last year and Schiit still cannot tell me when I am likely to see it , but I am curious why you are running it in passive mode though, I thought the strength of the Freya was a tube stage which was not overly "tubey" but gave just enough fullness and dimensionality to the sound over a solid state pre to really shine, I bought mine on this basis but you seem to have defeated it to run in passive mode ?

Can I also ask are you running the stock tubes or have you upgraded ?

Good luck with the May, I hope it brings the sound that you are after

thanks
John

 

[toddrhodes]

Hi John! Great questions, and absolutely "heard" on letting May run in before really evaluating.

For Freya+ - yes I did upgrade to new tubes after listening to the stock, new TS tubes. The TS tubes it comes with are great - balanced, quiet, and I'd say pretty transparent. I upgraded to PSVane UKs on the left, and yellow label Sylvania GTBs on the right, all with Herbie's best dampers on them.

And don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of tube mode. But I know from a past experience with JFET buffers - from a Herron phono stage where they are used in the ultra finnicky MC stage - that JFETs can be *really* good, quiet, and dynamic. So I decided to sort of force myself to listen in JFET only mode. I've listened in tube mode with the upgraded tubes for many months. I feel it lacks for nothing, really. Plenty of gain, nice, dimensional and airy soundstage, plenty of punch, pace, and drive (I listen to a lot of rock, some jazz, and some classical). So JFET mode was just an experiment.

And to me, JFET mode does require one to lean into the volume a bit more, and maybe that creates a better gain synergy with my McCormack amp? I'm not sure, but to me it takes all that is great about tube mode and just makes one more pass of polish over the window into the music. It's just a little more transparent, a little more of a disappearing act in the room. It's not maybe as warm but that's not a bad thing. I liken it to peach fuzz vis a vis tube mode. It's really nice and comforting, but there's still really good fruit under that fuzz and the fuzz takes little to nothing away from the performance.

But without the fuzz, you get just the fruit. No filler, no editorializing. And I think both are splendid. And for my purposes, that's exactly what I want out of Freya+ - flexibility. It integrates perfectly with my balanced amp with single ended subwoofers. It can crank for days in tube mode and neither mode ever approaches fatigue. In JFET mode it runs perfectly cool, there's no warmup needed, it's just turn up the volume and let's go. I do leave Freya+ on all the time, and always put it in JFET mode after listening, so as not to run the tubes constantly.

I think once you get one, you'll really enjoy it. I'm trying to get my buddy to bring over his Benchmark LA-4 next weekend for a little preamp shootout. That's the only other preamp I'm considering at this point but for all it can do, Freya+ may not be the last word in ultimate fidelity, but it's a bargain and a badass little preamp.

 

[U_J]

Hi John! Great questions, and absolutely "heard" on letting May run in before really evaluating.

For Freya+ - yes I did upgrade to new tubes after listening to the stock, new TS tubes. The TS tubes it comes with are great - balanced, quiet, and I'd say pretty transparent. I upgraded to PSVane UKs on the left, and yellow label Sylvania GTBs on the right, all with Herbie's best dampers on them.

And don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of tube mode. But I know from a past experience with JFET buffers - from a Herron phono stage where they are used in the ultra finnicky MC stage - that JFETs can be *really* good, quiet, and dynamic. So I decided to sort of force myself to listen in JFET only mode. I've listened in tube mode with the upgraded tubes for many months. I feel it lacks for nothing, really. Plenty of gain, nice, dimensional and airy soundstage, plenty of punch, pace, and drive (I listen to a lot of rock, some jazz, and some classical). So JFET mode was just an experiment.

And to me, JFET mode does require one to lean into the volume a bit more, and maybe that creates a better gain synergy with my McCormack amp? I'm not sure, but to me it takes all that is great about tube mode and just makes one more pass of polish over the window into the music. It's just a little more transparent, a little more of a disappearing act in the room. It's not maybe as warm but that's not a bad thing. I liken it to peach fuzz vis a vis tube mode. It's really nice and comforting, but there's still really good fruit under that fuzz and the fuzz takes little to nothing away from the performance.

But without the fuzz, you get just the fruit. No filler, no editorializing. And I think both are splendid. And for my purposes, that's exactly what I want out of Freya+ - flexibility. It integrates perfectly with my balanced amp with single ended subwoofers. It can crank for days in tube mode and neither mode ever approaches fatigue. In JFET mode it runs perfectly cool, there's no warmup needed, it's just turn up the volume and let's go. I do leave Freya+ on all the time, and always put it in JFET mode after listening, so as not to run the tubes constantly.

I think once you get one, you'll really enjoy it. I'm trying to get my buddy to bring over his Benchmark LA-4 next weekend for a little preamp shootout. That's the only other preamp I'm considering at this point but for all it can do, Freya+ may not be the last word in ultimate fidelity, but it's a bargain and a badass little preamp.

Thanks for the informed reply Todd and really an affirmation of all the reasons I purchased one, everything you mentioned is what I had hoped to get out of a Freya.

I currently run an amazing little "passive" LDR pre from New Zealand called Stereo Coffee which is the closest thing to a straight piece of wire with gain ( not really gain but more like an auto transformer which provides a high impedance in and a low impedance out ).

In all honesty the Holo May is so good and far better than I expected that I feel like I might not really need an active pre like the Freya anymore, I wanted just a little touch of tube magic with the Freya without getting in the way of the music but the May has surpassed expectations and given me plenty of extra magic that I am not sure if the Freya is required.

Of course this feeling will last only as long as I am not bored and start chasing my next upgrade !

 

[Tuckers]

TLDR: I've never heard a more natural, holographic, and realistic sounding DAC, ever!

I went back and forth using HQplayer at PCM 1.536mhz (Didn't prefer DSD over PCM, tad too smooth sounding and slightly less resolute, IMHO), and just NOS on my May, but honestly I prefer pure NOS 99% of the time with the May. I bought HQplayer anyway just because seeing DSD1024 or PCM 1.536mhz light up on the display is entertaining to me, lol.

The May is simply spellbinding on its own merits. It's so natural, holographic, revealing, dynamic, fast, and most importantly, it's the epitome of realism. The instrumental and vocal delineation and microdynamics are on another level and this is running stock USB with a KTE version. Finest sounding DAC I've heard and I seriously considered MSB and DCS. I think the May is a giant killer . The added bonus of superior measured performance for a R2R DAC or chip based DAC is both functionally superior and engineering mastery. If I wanted a distorted DAC I would just buy "Fill in blank with any R2R DAC" or better yet (...and have in the past), a tube DAC, Preamp, or SET tube amplifier. I want my source pure, and I never run a preamp as I prefer source direct (Using Roon or HQplayer wth Roon allows me this despite the lack of a volume control on the May). Finally the output stage of the May deserves a standing ovation in its own right for being sublime.

(fin)

I've had one for about 6 months and I completely agree with you. Best DAC I've heard, most natural and transparent and also dynamic and powerful. Tremendous natural detail (not in your face or aggressive) that I've never heard before out of my recordings.

 

[Tuckers]

So the May will continue to improve, even past the 1,000 hour mark, like a lot of truly excellent components. I have have a lot of cables, tweaks and combinations to use with the May, and its one of the first components I've had that sounds good regardless of what its associated with, with the exception of USB/i2s cables - it does like to be fed clean digital signals. However, it can sound stunning with the right combination of power, cabling, platforms etc.

I am currently using Kitsune's premium USB cable and it is a very good match for the May. I am planning to test some of the cable designs and make a few new USB cables to see if I can better it.

I have decided that I need to find a superb preamp to mate with the May. Something that not only gets out of the way, but adds that special magic that the best can do.

I also have the Kitsune-tuned Singxer SU-2 DDC so that I can run a second USB to the May via the i2s input (why don't DAC makers add another USB port???). My second source is for video/TV and is not my primary/critical listening path. But it gave me the opportunity to compare May's USB input with its i2S input with my USB sources. The difference was incredibly small and I don't think using the SU-2 or another DDC would improve over May's own USB.

 

[toddrhodes]

May KTE arrived on Monday. I've been playing constant music through it so far. In what will be no surprise to anyone here, it's damn good.

I recently had the opportunity to audition the Benchmark HPA-4 in my system with the old DAC, a Venus II. The change from Freya+ in passive JFET mode (and even moreso in passive or tube modes) was a noticeable increase in refinement, transparency, and detail retrieval. Acoustic spaces were better rendered and "visible" within my room. This wasn't a total surprise given the accolades I've heard from LA-4 or HPA-4 users.

So back to May KTE - switching Venus II out for May KTE is a very similar experience. Better detail. Better clarity. Absolutely zero loss of "soul" or musicality. It's VERY fun to listen to in my setup. I've completely removed my subwoofers so I'm just listening to my Confidence C2 Platinums. And I've taken everything else out of the room as well. No hardware except for the preamp and amp, and the speakers, and a listening chair.

The room just comes alive this way. It did so a little bit with Venus II but May's ability to draw the space in which a recording was made, plus the added detail it somehow digs out of those 1's and 0's - it's captivating.

It's not all good news though? I hate to say this, but having heard HPA-4 in my setup and now seeing the leap forward from May, I toggled back and forth last night between tube mode and JFET passive with Freya+. And I do believe the preamp has now become the bottleneck For one, while I haven't put the stock Tung Sol tubes back in, I am not much of a fan of tube mode at all anymore. JFET passive is very good still, but I also know what's not there now. Further, the volume control is just flat out better with the Benchmark. Lastly... Music Direct put a demo LA-4 up for sale, in Black. The stars aligned. I bought it, and the accompanying remote.

Can't wait to hear what these two things do together - May KTE and LA-4 in my room.

 

[Tinear1]

Ron... Any update on the SW1X?

 

[toddrhodes]

LA-4 came in today. This combo is pretty incredible. Easily the best I've heard in this room, and it's not close. Funny thing is, both the May and LA-4 provide exceptional resolution, refinement, and detail but they sacrifice nothing for enjoyment for the sake of being analytical. They just give you what's there and do so in a way that is highly engaging.

 

[roberto]

Hola Chicos,
I just got my Holo May Kte. Ordered on the 30th of July, it took more than 6 weeks to be here with me. I have to report that the waiting time really worth it every minute. This is another level DAC, and a big further step for better. I had an Exasound E-32. I was very happy with it, but reading about the Holo, the wanting bug bitted me.

All users had reported the benefits of this amazing dac. I do know that I need more breaking in time, and it will get every day better and better. My first impression was how easy is to listen the musical instrument into the stage. Also the musical instruments and voices are projected into a virtual stage with much air between the musicians, there are no congestion at all. The strings are silky with a harmonic texture that I never had this before. I had some strident passages on some recordings, but now everything flows like magic. The over sibilant is gone. The sweetness of the violin is beautiful. Before I was hearing the virtual stage having like a clean window, now the window is open, there is no window.

Listening to Gil Shaham Hi RES recording playing Sarasate: Virtuoso Works For Violin, is something that must be listen. For the first time I have also a special deepness of the musical instruments. As an example, the piano...it has like 3D.

The dynamics is also very nice and the realism is evident, listening to Kari Bremnes " A Lover In Berling" her voice floats in the air, and the Spanish acoustic guitar is played with the right size. The percussion instruments are truly dynamic and are right where you see the percussionist at the stage, and the bass is robust but with an outstanding control. The piano has a fantastic sense of realism with a perfect time decay. The album is Norwegian Mood.

The overall sound quality is so clean, that I am getting goosebumps. The fun that the musicians are having playing together is splendid. Their communication and the fun playing together is contagious.

Right now I am thrill of how good this DAC is. I do know that there are many great DACs on the marketplace, and this is one of them.

Happy listening!

 

[roberto]

Hola Chicos...

I can report a sweetness and much better resolution what's so ever. I need more burning time of course. Right now I have about 70 hours, and I am saying to myself, is this is going to get much better? There is so much detail, so much new things in each musical instruments and voices. Right now I am likening to Carol Kidd "He Won't Send Roses" and the acoustic guitar sounds easy on the ears, lovely, gorgeous! On the John Martino "Quien Sera" the piano really melts in my ears. The feeling of the musicians each day is more evident. Easy to call all the musicians at the recording.

I am really having a lot of fun with it!

Remember to activate the PLL for anti Jitter. Turn the unit off, and pressing the power button at the same time with the menu, you get to the adjusting mode. Go to PLL and activate it. If it is, then just turn off again the unit, pressing only the on/off switch. Then turn the unit on...

The body of the cello is quite impressive...and the bow over the strings...a delicious sound. I do like a lot the hi-res recordings too. but I do not use over sampling. Reading owners, it looks that this is a general consensus. There is no need for upsampling the signal. I am playing native only.

The general balance of the music is outstanding. You are able to hear the pedals at the piano. How long the musician wants to leave the piano notes singing...with Steve Dobrogosz "Two Of Us" is a good demo to hear this.

Carl Cleves and Parissa Bouas " Way In The Mines" the song opens with a metal folk string guitar and she singing, then suddenly a big bass drum plays, very deep...very nice.

With Eddie Higgins Trio, "Moon Was Yellow" the cymbals are magical and the piano is very nice to listen to...

On Dave's True History, "Everlasting No" to understand the complexity of the harmony chords of the electric guitar is amazing...this is a new way to listen to the music...

Happy listening!